Augusta's par-5s still put excitement in play 80 years later

When Alister MacKenzie and Bobby Jones designed Augusta National Golf Club in the early 1930s, one of the primary thoughts was to bring excitement into play on the par-5 holes.

“It was one of our guiding principles in building the Augusta National that even our par 5s should be reachable by two excellent shots,” Jones wrote in Sports Illustrated in 1959.

Eighty years since the first Masters Tournament was held, that philosophy remains true.

The long holes offer a mixture of excitement, danger and intrigue that is hard
to match in championship golf.

The rewards for great shots are plentiful on the par-5 holes, and have been from the beginning. Horton Smith birdied No. 8 (which was then played as No. 17) for a one-shot victory in
the first Augusta National Invitation Tournament in 1934.

A year later, when the nines were reversed, Gene Sarazen struck the most famous shot in tournament history when he made a double eagle on No. 15. The
great shot enabled him to tie Craig Wood, whom he beat in a 36-hole playoff the next day.

That early excitement established a trend that has played out each spring in Au­gusta. Players can make up the most ground, or lose it, on the par-5 holes.

The four par-5s – Nos. 2, 8, 13 and 15 – historically have played the easiest in tournament history.

They are the only holes that have played under par since the tournament began keeping cumulative statistics in 1942.

“We want to make the bogies easy if frankly sought, pars readily obtainable by standard good play, and birdies, except on the par 5s, dearly bought,” Jones wrote in his course description.

MacKenzie, who was a master of disguising danger, also believed that good golf holes required multiple ways to be played. While all of the par-5s at Augusta National are reachable in two, they also produce plenty of birdies for players who elect to lay up and attack with a wedge.

“There should be a sufficient number of heroic carries from the tee, but the course should be arranged so that the weaker player with the loss of a stroke or portion of a stroke shall always have an alternative route open to him,” MacKenzie wrote.

The flip side is that the long holes can also produce big numbers if a player hits an errant shot.

“It’s a golf course when you make a mistake it’s really difficult to make up for it,” six-time winner Jack Nicklaus said. “There’s half a dozen holes out there you can make double or triple real quick. It doesn’t
leave you in a good position to win.”

Nicklaus cites the tee shots on Nos. 2 and 13 and the second shot at No. 15 as part of a handful of shots that are dangerous.

Famous disasters on the par-5 holes include amateur Billy Joe Patton in 1954 and Curtis Strange in 1985. Each player found the water on both incoming par-5 holes and lost in their bid for a green jacket.

But eagles and birdies generally prevail over high scores on the par-5s, especially for the final few pairings on a Sunday afternoon.

All of the long holes have produced double eagles, the most recent coming in 2012, when Louis Oosthuizen made a deuce on No. 2 in the final round. The South African went on to lose a sudden-death playoff to Bubba Watson.

In last year’s Masters, Adam Scott successfully navigated the dangers to get into a sudden-death playoff that he won over Angel Cabrera. Scott birdied Nos. 13 and 15 coming in, while Cabrera found the water at the 13th and made bogey, then made par on the 15th.

Even with 510 yards added to the course since Tiger Woods set the 72-hole scoring record in 1997, the par-5 holes are all still reachable in two.

Just like Jones and Mac­Kenzie envisioned so many years ago.

“I think a par five should always be of the kind that can be played as a great par four if the player is man enough to do so,” Jones wrote in The American Golfer in 1935. “Holes like this give the big hitter a chance to do his stuff.”